Brian Carter quickly understood why the leopard, which would normally avoid humans, dared to confront the five of them. It was because this leopard was already very old, its hunting abilities had greatly declined, and now it was so hungry that it had become extremely thin. The immobilized antelope was fatally attractive to the aging leopard, and a starving old leopard would never give up food that was already within its grasp.

The distance was too close, and the situation was extremely dangerous. The leopard opened its mouth and let out a low growl. Chief stood less than two meters away from the leopard, spreading his arms and slowly backing away, while the others, including Brian Carter, also began to retreat slowly.

Competing with a hungry leopard for food was very dangerous, even if this leopard was old and weak—especially at such an almost face-to-face distance. The explosive power of a four-legged animal was beyond human imagination. Even with five people, they could not afford to anger the leopard at this moment. Only after retreating to a safe distance could they try to scare the leopard away together.

Just as Chief was slowly backing away, the leopard suddenly let go of the antelope under its paw and, like a flash of lightning, lunged at Chief.

Chief only had time to pull back his outstretched arms to protect his neck before being knocked to the ground by the leopard.

The large leopard tilted its head and immediately bit at Chief's throat, clamping down and refusing to let go. Fortunately, Chief managed to protect his neck in time, so the leopard did not bite through his throat.

Seeing Chief knocked to the ground, Brian Carter shouted loudly and, gripping the hunting knife in his hand, rushed forward. The three people in front of him also thrust their spears at the leopard. After being stabbed, the leopard released Chief from its jaws, pounced forward again, left five deep claw marks on one person's thigh, and finally turned and fled.

Brian Carter was both shocked and furious, his heart filled with dread. The leopard was one of Africa's top predators, and prey bitten on the neck by a leopard almost never survived.

Chief clutched his neck with one hand, blood seeping continuously through his fingers. Everyone was so terrified that they just stood there shouting, except for Brian Carter, who managed to stay relatively calm. He ran to Chief's side, reached out to pry away Chief's hand from his neck, and took a look at Chief's injuries.

Chief had protected his throat in time, so the leopard hadn't bitten through it, but the leopard's long canine teeth had left two deep, bleeding holes on the right rear side of Chief's neck. In addition, the leopard had left a row of deep bite marks on Chief's right arm.

Brian Carter gasped, reached out to press on the wound on Chief's neck, his mind thrown into chaos. He desperately tried to think of a way to save Chief's life, but the more he thought, the more panicked he became, because from every angle, Chief seemed doomed.

A small blessing in the midst of misfortune was that the leopard hadn't bitten through Chief's throat or severed his carotid artery. As long as he could receive at least basic surgery, Chief could stop the bleeding. But now, Chief could only slowly die from excessive blood loss. Even if he was lucky and the bleeding stopped on its own, the ensuing wound infection would still cause Chief to die after a long period of suffering.

As a carnivore, the leopard's mouth and claws carried far too many bacteria and viruses. Whether bitten or scratched, regardless of the size of the wound, without antibiotics, it was absolutely fatal.

After three years together day and night, Brian Carter had developed a deep bond with Chief. Just moments ago everything was fine, but in the blink of an eye, he could only watch helplessly as Chief died. Even though Brian Carter tried hard to grit his teeth, tears still fell uncontrollably.

Chief also knew he didn't have much time left. He pushed away Brian Carter's hand, slowly stood up by himself, shook his head at Brian Carter, and said in a hoarse voice, "All of you, stop crying. I'm already very old. This day comes for all of us. David Bailey, if you don't die, you will be Chief. If you die too, then let Little Bailey be Chief. That's enough, stop crying. Let's take care of the antelope, eat something here, and then bring the meat home."

"Dad, you won't die, you definitely won't die, waaah."

The one speaking was the youngest, Curtis Stone, who was only about fourteen or fifteen years old. He couldn't handle life and death as calmly as his older brothers. After speaking, he finally broke down and cried loudly.

After hearing Chief's words, Brian Carter remembered that David Bailey, Chief's eldest son, had also been scratched by the leopard. This meant that David Bailey was also very likely to die from wound infection.

Brian Carter said in a daze, "No, this isn't right, it shouldn't be like this. There must be a way, there must be a way to save you. Let me think, don't say anything, let me think."

Chief had lost a lot of blood, his face full of sorrow, and he staggered before sitting down again.

"White child, there's nothing that can be done. No one can escape the death brought by the leopard."

Brian Carter was at a complete loss, forced to watch Chief die before his eyes. This made him extremely agitated. After pacing in place a few times, breathing heavily, Brian Carter finally couldn't bear it any longer. He let out a roar and sprinted madly in the direction where the leopard had disappeared.